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A 77 percent cut in the catch limit for cod in the Gulf of Maine and a 61 percent decrease in the cod limit in Georges Bank, off southeastern New England, are the most significant in an array of 2013 catch reductions on bottom-dwelling groundfish.

The letter described the situation as “simply unbelievable” following rosy promises by regulators of healthier fish stocks and economic stability if previous regulations were enacted.

“There is no stability,” said the letter, which was sent to 14 regional members of Congress and 12 U.S. senators. “There are only repeated, record reductions in catch limits. Prosperity is a discarded dream. This is a real disaster.”

The letter blamed “the failure of government policies and programs” to accept that current science is inadequate to effectively manage the fishery. It said the fleet has fished within government-set catch limits on every species for nearly a decade.

“We lived within their quotas, but it is now our businesses, our families and our communities that will be paying the price,” the fishermen wrote.

In a statement, the Northeast’s top federal regulator, John Bullard of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, defended the science, noting the catch of cod in the Gulf of Maine is way down this year, and the science says cod there are scarce.